Be a part of the Journey
Why Music Scholarships Matter – in students’ own words To many students, PLU is a dream, and financial aid and scholarships make it a reality. Hear students talk about their journey to PLU and how music scholarships have made the difference. To address demand for…
Inaugural Christmas Music Scholarship Concert premieres Saturday, December 13
New concert fills need for additional campus performances Pacific Lutheran University’s annual Christmas Concerts are a beloved seasonal celebration on campus and across the Northwest. This year, more than 150 students will perform the world premiere of Oregon composer Robert Kyr’s Christmas Oratorio in Seattle,…
Student Composition Wins Statewide Competition
Taylor Whatley’s Original Piece, ‘Fanfare Giocoso,’ Premieres at LUCO’s Season-Opener Seattle’s renowned Lake Union Civic Orchestra (LUCO) opened its 20th anniversary season with pieces by Mozart, de Falla, Respighi—and Whatley. That’s Taylor Whatley ’15, a Music Composition major at Pacific Lutheran University. And his original composition,…
The Choir of the West: PLU’s Premier Choral Ensemble Keeps Particularly Busy
By Shunying Wang ’15 PLU Marketing & Communications Student Worker It’s an especially busy—and newsy—year for PLU’s renowned Choir of the West, including the return of Dr. Richard Nance, Director of Choral Activities and conductor of the choir, who’s back from a yearlong sabbatical. During…
Alice Giles ‘cool’ World Harp Tour stops in Tacoma
Alice Giles, world-renowned harpist, will be performing at Pacific Lutheran University as part of her 2014 world tour on October 19 at 8pm in Lagerquist Concert Hall. The multi-media performance commemorates the Centenary of the First Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911-1914. The first part of the…
Going for a Grammy
When you think Grammys, you might think Béyoncé and Macklemore—but you might not think Lute. It might be time to rethink the Grammys. Micah Haven, a 2009 Music Education graduate of Pacific Lutheran University and now the director of bands at Meeker Middle School in…
A Flutist’s Unplanned Path to Success
Jodie Rottle ’10 Finds Fame Even Without a Direct Roadmap By Shunying Wang ’15 and Sandy Deneau Dunham, PLU Marketing & Communications As far as Jodie Rottle ’10 can recall, she started to play the flute because her sister randomly suggested it. Good call, Jodie Rottle’s sister. Rottle,…
Free Summer Jazz Series brings Stars-and the community-to PLU
16th Annual Jazz Under the Stars Kicks Off July 10 By Sandy Deneau Dunham, PLU Marketing & Communication As a gift to the community—and really, to everyone who attends—the Pacific Lutheran University Department of Music kicks off its free summer concert series, Jazz Under the…
The End of an Era
Dave Robbins Steps Down after 33 Years as Chair of the Department of Music Greg Youtz’s first glimpse of Dave Robbins was him strolling down a hallway in Eastvold, while his two-year-old daughter toddled along at his side, clutching his finger. “I remember thinking that…
Cosmosis: combining the art of music with the inquiry of science
In Cosmosis , the final 2013 SOAC FOCUS Series Event, musicians and scientists explore how failure can empower us to pursue knowledge and success. The three-part event will take place in Lagerquist Concert Hall in the Mary Baker Russell Music Center on Saturday, May 11, 2013…
Musical Memories
Editor’s Note: When Lorna Vosburg Burt ’40, ’69 read our story on PLU’s annual Christmas Concerts in the winter 2013 edition of Scene magazine, she was inspired to recall—and share—her own Choir of the West story … from 1939. It was so full of history…
Lute Plays Piano ‘Up Close with the Masters’
A Q&A With Natalie Burton ’13 By Sandy Deneau Dunham, PLU Marketing & Communications Music and Chinese Studies major Natalie Burton graduated magna cum laude from PLU in 2013, but she might have taken her most high-profile class just this year: an “Up Close With the…
Black History Month Concert kicks off 2014 SOAC Focus Series on Entrepreneurship
On Thursday, February 20, the 2014 SOAC Focus Series on Entrepreneurship will kick off with the Black History Month Concert in Lagerquist Concert Hall. Directed by David Deacon-Joyner, the concert plays tribute to the entrepreneurship of African-Americans featuring the legacy of their music, literature, and…
Professor Emeritus David Dahl releases new CD: “The Organ Sings”
Professor Emeritus and former University Organist David Dahl released a new CD titled The Organ Sings , which features compositions drawn from publications of his organ music over the past 25 years. The recording features organist Mark Brombaugh playing the renowned John Brombaugh pipe organ…
Angela Meade Vocal Performance Scholarship Underway
On January 18, Soprano Angela Meade ‘01 performed a one-time-only benefit concert at PLU to kick off fundraising for the new Angela Meade Vocal Performance Scholarship. “During my years at PLU, I received about a third of my tuition in scholarships and I know how…
A Midsummer Night’s Dream first opera set in the Karen Hille Phillips Center
Fairy high jinks, true love and bewitching spells will play out on stage at the Karen Hille Phillips Center for the Performing Arts January 23-26 when PLU’s Opera series presents Benjamin Britten’s, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Originally premiered in 1960 at the Aldeburgh Festival, Britten’s evocative…
PLU choral conductor winner of The American Prize for 2013
Pacific Lutheran University’s professor and choral conductor, Richard Nance, was named the winner of The American Prize for 2013. Richard Nance is the Director of Choral Activities at Pacific Lutheran University where he has worked since 1992. At PLU, Nance conducts the Choir of the…
The Choir of the West and Choral Union perform Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony three times this May, with three different orchestras
PLU choirs and local orchestras will combine this spring to perform Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony three times this May, with the Everett Philharmonic Orchestra, PLU’s University Symphony Orchestra and the Tacoma Youth Symphony Orchestra. Tacoma Youth Symphony and Everett Philharmonic Orchestra conductor, Dr. Paul Elliott Cobbs,…
Pacific Lutheran University’s Jazz and Wind Ensembles go “Down Under” this summer
The University Jazz Ensemble and University Wind Ensemble will travel to Australia May 28 –June 11, 2013, to discover the “Down Under” and share their music with an international audience. Traveling to Melbourne, Bairnsdale, Canberra and Sydney, 49 students will discover both the rural and…
Greg Youtz: Composing for the cannery – of boxcars, rhinos, and grapes
1973, a 17-year-old Gregory Youtz departed from Sea-Tac International Airport and landed in France. Meritoriously skipping the third grade, the young composer had afforded himself the luxury of a year in limbo – graduating high school a year early and giving himself time to explore…
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